1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a wavelength tuning of an optical source in an optical communication system and, more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for controlling a wavelength tuning of an optical source in an optical communication system, which minimizes a wavelength tuning time of an optical source.
This work was supported by the IT R&D program of MIC/IITA [2006-S-059-01, ASON based Metro Photonic Cross-Connect Technology]
2. Description of the Related Art
In a configuration of an optical communication system, wavelength utilization is maximized through wavelength division multiplexing in which a plurality of signals are divided into a plurality of wavelengths and transmitted to a thread of optical fiber, which is a transmission line. The transmission signal of such an optical communication system is transferred to a remote place through the transmission line configured in multiple stages of transmission blocks. These multiple blocks assist transmission to another network with optical signal add/drop function. To allow such optical signal add/drop function, there should not be collision between the wavelengths of optical signals in connecting the networks. Thus, technologies of wavelength tuning of an optical source at fixed wavelengths are required. The wavelength of an optical source can be tuned by various methods according to the structural condition of the optical source and the width of a wavelength tuning band.
One of the apparatuses for generating an optical source can be a laser diode, and according to the structure of the optical source, wavelength of the optical source of the laser diode can be utilized to widen a wavelength tuning band.
Technologies are currently under development to execute wavelength tuning at stable and high speeds. In particular, the time of wavelength tuning needs to be shortened, but conventionally, the focus has been the configuration of surrounding circuits for wavelength tuning. Thus, the conventional technology does not shorten but rather may lengthen the overall wavelength tuning time. Therefore, there exists a need for an effective method that allows stable optical communication while minimizing the wavelength tuning time.